It’s confession time. I first got my hands on a copy of this book back in the summer of 2020, ahead of its publication, and I did read it, but I never reviewed it. It wasn’t because it was bad. Looking back at the clutch of outstanding books I intended to review, I see they all date back to that point in 2020 when lockdown restrictions were lifted. From spending all day reading I was able to go out and socialise, go shopping, do things. And so I forgot the books.
Belatedly, I’m going through them again and rereading them so I can review them with them fresh in my mind. This matters, because I’d forgotten, until I came back to this book, quite how much I enjoyed it. It’s a well-worm genre, the Victorian upper-class detective, but it’s none the worse for that. In this case out heroine Frances , the widowed Countess of Harleigh, is navigating the hasty marriage of her sister, Lily, when a series of accidents appear to get ever closer to Lily’s groom-to-be. Meanwhile Frances’ likeable and capable beau, George, is on the trail of villains and lends a helping hand.
I’ve read a lot in this genre and I think this book benefits hugely from taking itself seriously. There’s sometimes a tendency for authors to mock the period and the class from which they have chosen their sleuths and victims, but in this case I felt all of the characters were properly fleshed out and therefore both believable and enjoyable. There were plenty of twists and turns and, while I remembered one or two from my previous reading, I remained pleasantly surprised by the way the plot turned, without resorting to silliness. All in all I felt thoroughly engaged and definitely enjoyed reading it for a second time.
Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Books for a copy of this novel in return for an honest review.